Bikes

Sultry weather didn’t stop throngs of cycling fans from lining the streets of downtown Boise for the Twilight Criterium this past weekend.

The project proposed by the Ada County Highway District, or ACHD, would connect two popular Boise landmarks — Camel’s Back Park and the Greenbelt. The bikeway would run between Heron Street and State Street.

The Plantation Island Bridge connects a bike path across the Boise River. It links the greenbelt in Garden City to the one in Boise. But two years ago, after heavy snowpack eroded it, the bridge began to wash away.

The Boise Bicycle Project is spending the month of May encouraging kids to get on their bikes and explore their communities. The project manages programs that provide bikes for low income Idahoans and teach bike maintainance to all. The BBP also organizes rides for all levels and looks for opportunities to combine biking with community outreach. We talk with the Boise Bicycle Project about their efforts this month.

A new online map is giving Boise bicyclists a break during a time when many of their preferred pathways are closed.

Bikers have faced challenges since much of the Boise Greenbelt closed down due to the flooded Boise River. Though the water is receding, many parts of the 25-mile pathway were damaged by extensive flooding and remain closed.

Finding alternate routes around the handy bike path has been tough, but the Ada County Highway District has a new online map to help.

Anyone with an idea about bike lanes in downtown Boise is invited to voice their opinion at City Hall at 5:00 p.m. The Ada County Highway District (ACHD) will host an open house Wednesday in Boise to go over four options for expanded bike lanes in the city’s downtown. Ada County Commissioner Paul Woods says the goal is to get as many people as possible to attend.

Three months in, riders using Boise's GreenBike program have made almost 5,000 trips on the bikes.

Dave Fotsch is the director of the program. He says almost 2,000 people have used the bikes since the program started in April. GreenBike lets people rent bikes around town, and is meant to improve the environment and users' health.

“Ridership has been good, and we’ve generated about $24,000-$25,000 from membership and ridership," says Fotsch. "But I would like to see higher numbers for both of those categories.”

A new look at bicycle crash data shows 1,195 people have been involved in crashes in Ada County since 2007. Most were in Boise. Eleven of those crashes resulted in the death of the cyclist.